Ranking the projected starting center fielders in the American League in 2019

Not only is Trout the obvious choice for the top of the list, but perhaps all of baseball as he has been the near-consensus best player for a few years now. The 27-year-old batted .312 with 39 home runs, 24 doubles, 24 steals, and 101 runs last year. His league-leading 122 walks also helped him pace the American League for the third straight year with a .460 on-base percentage. Trout has finished no worse than fourth in American League MVP voting over the last seven seasons.

While it was still a good 2018 season for Springer, it wasn't quite up to par when compared with his previous body of work. The 29-year-old posted a career-low .780 OPS (still well above-average), one year after his career-high of .889. Last year, he hit .265 with 22 home runs, 26 doubles, and 102 runs (third straight year with over 100). It has been a bout a 60/40 split between his time in center field and right respectively, and a full-time switch to right could be in the near future.

The 29-year-old Hicks has come into his own in the last two years with the Yankees. He appeared in 137 games last year and finished with a .248 average, 27 home runs, 18 doubles, and 11 steals. His 90 walks helped cause his on-base percentage to be a solid .366 (.372 in 2017). It was under .300 (.299) in Hicks' 1,289 plate appearances from 2013-16. Defensive metrics tab him as an above-average center fielder.

Always a great defender, Bradley Jr. received his first Gold Glove in 2018. For the second straight year though, he put up somewhat subpar offensive numbers. In 144 games last year, the 28-year-old went on to bat .234 with 13 homers, 33 doubles, and 17 stolen bases. After combining for an .834 OPS in 2015-16, that number has dipped down to .721 over the last two seasons.

Laureano made his major league debut in early August of last year and produced from the get-go. In 48 games, the 24-year-old went on to bat .288 with five homers, 12 doubles, and seven stolen bases. To nitpick, he did strike out in 28.4 percent of his plate appearances. He was an excellent hitter in his 66 games at Triple-A last year as well and hit 14 home runs there.

A strained right elbow has made it unlikely that Smith will play in the season opener according to MLB.com. The 25-year-old played in 141 games for Tampa Bay last year and batted .296 with two homers, 27 doubles, 10 triples (tied for the American League lead), and 40 steals (second in the American League). He spent last year seeing action at all three outfield spots, but Smith will mostly man center with Kevin Kiermaier no longer blocking him from playing there.

The 28-year-old Kiermaier is a two-time Gold Glove winner and arguably the best defensive center fielder in baseball. He has also been an inconsistent hitter and struggled to remain on the field due to injuries. Only once in his five seasons has he played more than 108 games. Kiermaier played in 88 last year and hit .217 with seven homers, 12 doubles, nine triples, and 10 stolen bases. It was his worst year offensively as he was fairly close to a league-average player prior to last year by OPS.

After it finally looked like he was ready to breakout at the end of 2017, Buxton regressed in major fashion last year. Due to injuries and a stint in the minors, he only played in 28 games. The 25-year-old was flat out awful in his short time with Minnesota hitting a meager .156 with zero homers. The second overall pick in 2012 is about as good as it comes in center field though, and has shown superb base running abilities (46 career stolen bases, only caught five times).

The 30-year-old Pillar has consistently been close to league-average at the plate. In 142 games last year, he was able to bat .252 with 15 home runs, 40 doubles, and 14 stolen bases. Never known for his plate discipline, he only drew 18 walks in 542 plate appearances. Pillar was a standout in the field, but he has begun to show slight signs of slowing down as his age advances.

Turning 31 on March 6, Martin joined the Indians via trade last July. A bacterial infection ended his season after just six outings with his new club. Over 84 games with Detroit and Cleveland in 2018, he hit for a .255 average to go along with 11 home runs and 15 doubles. The .747 OPS he posted was well-above his career mark of .673. Defensive metrics have always rated him as an above-average center fielder.

Hamilton is one of the fastest players in the game, but also provides little else on offense. In 153 games with Cincinnati last year, he hit .236 with four homers, 16 doubles, nine triples, and 34 steals. While he has averaged nearly 53 stolen bases per year over the last five seasons, he also owns only a .629 OPS over that time. The 28-year-old's speed allows him to chase down balls in center field that others at his position can only dream of catching.

Much like Kiermaier, DeShields Jr. has gone through a myriad of injuries causing him to miss plenty of games. The 26-year-old appeared in 106 last year and wasn't very successful at the plate batting .216 with two homers, 14 doubles, and 20 stolen bases. It was the third time he has stolen at least 20 bags. While his seven errors last year are very high for an outfielder, he possesses a lot of range.

The 24-year-old Mullins was called up to make his major league debut last August. He ended up playing in 45 games for Baltimore and hit .235 with four home runs and nine doubles. While he stole just two bases with Baltimore, he did steal 21 combined in Double-A and Triple-A last year.

After receiving 172 plate appearances in the majors in 2016-17, the 26-year-old Jones received his first extended look in the big leagues last season. He played in 129 games finishing with a .207 average, 11 home runs, 22 doubles, and 13 stolen bases. Not pretty offensive numbers at all, but the potential could be there for him to be in the running for future Gold Gloves.

After an atrocious 97-game stint with Chicago in 2017, Engel saw his numbers improve a little last year. He appeared in 143 games batting .235 with six homers, 17 doubles, and 16 steals. He once again showed little plate discipline and has a career strikeout-to-walk ratio of over 6.6 to one. The 27-year-old made just one error in center field last year.